A Blog About Oil Painting
Welcome to my blog. Here you'll find me rambling on about all sorts of things related to art in general and oil painting in particular. There's even a recipe for dog cookies hidden away somewhere.
Like the rest of the site, this section is still a work in progress and I will be making it tider and easier to navigate in time. There is a lot of content, so using the buttons below may help you to get around. Newest posts are shown first.
Painting of a Seattle Neighborhood Street
by Simon Bland / 24 Jun 2017
It took a couple of tries to work out how to do this street scene. I first started it on a large panel, then scraped it off and started anew on a small panel. Switching to cold wax medium helped with layering effects....
Plein Air Painting of a Ship
by Simon Bland / 02 Jun 2017
I've done paintings of boats and ships a few times, albeit with varying rates of success, but I felt the need to do something different with this one....
A Self Portrait in Oil
by Simon Bland / 31 May 2017
Painting a self-portrait that focuses on the grays in skin tones....
Painting Tip #5: Let the Paint Transform the Landscape
by Simon Bland / 31 May 2017
This painting was inspired by a blog post by the artist Anne Kullaf and the work of Philadelphia artist Mashiul Chowdhury...
The First Eight Lives of a Landscape Painting
by Simon Bland / 30 May 2017
Finishing a painting can take a long time. In this blog post I talk about one that took eight tries to get right and how it caused me to change my view of landscape painting altogether...
What is Cold Wax Medium?
by Simon Bland / 28 May 2017
A discussion of cold wax medium and the benefits of using it to extend your range as an oil painter....
A Simple Still Life with Limited Palette
by Simon Bland / 27 May 2017
A simple still life painting done with a limited palette....
Painting Tip #4: Move the Center of Interest
by Simon Bland / 24 May 2017
In this blog post I discuss the concept of a center of interest and the way it can be used to improve a painting....
Painting Tip #3: Add Light to a Painting to Make it More Interesting
by Simon Bland / 19 May 2017
Some revisions are made to a plein air painting of a fishing boat....